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Privacy
Lawmakers Request Expanded Probe Of Spying Program
by Andrew Noyes
A handful of House Democrats, including the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, want the Justice Department to expand its internal investigation of the Bush administration's anti-terrorism wiretapping program within the United States.
The agency agreed in November to review the National Security Agency initiative. Reps. Maurice Hinchey of New York; Maxine Waters, Henry Waxman and Lynn Woolsey of California; and Jim McDermott of Washington sent the letter to Justice Inspector General Glenn Fine on Thursday.
Fine previously indicated his probe would "examine the department's controls and use of information related to the program and the department's compliance with legal requirements governing the program." But the lawmakers said it is crucial to determine how the legal requirements were developed and whether they are proper.
Last week, Justice announced that it would change how the NSA spying program operates by getting permission from a secret court that fields requests for surveillance warrants on U.S. soil. The announcement came on the eve of an appearance by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Some Democrats worried that the announcement would distract from the IG's probe, which the letter calls "very necessary and important." "More than ever, we are determined to find out the answers about the origins and evolution of the program," the letter said.
According to the correspondence, Gonzales previously suggested that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court could not handle cases that arise under the NSA program. The lawmakers want to know why he changed his mind and decided to entrust the court with oversight.
They asked Fine to broaden the probe to answer questions about whether anyone at Justice, including Gonzales, violated constitutional or statutory provisions by conducting the program. They also want to know when the agency first authorized the request by President Bush for the surveillance and what process led to that approval.
This is not the first time Hinchey has pressed the agency for details on the spying program. A year ago, he requested that Justice's office of professional responsibility investigate. OPR counsel H. Marshall Jarrett launched an examination but later reported that it was abandoned because he was denied security clearances.
Gonzales revealed in July that Bush was the one who denied the clearances, Hinchey's office said. Documents released by Gonzales that month showed that Fine had been given access to analyze the NSA program. Hinchey then asked Fine to investigate.
Hinchey spokesman Jeff Lieberson said his boss is "looking at putting together some legislation that we can introduce as early as next week" that pertains to the NSA spying program. He would not discuss specific aspects of the proposal.
The House Judiciary Committee and Waxman's government reform panel are expected to scrutinize the spying program in the coming months, Lieberson said, but no hearing plans have been announced.
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Security
Departments Get Serious About Border Technologies
by Winter Casey
The departments of State and Homeland Security have made significant progress toward improving border technologies, according to a summary of accomplishments the government said it made in the last year.
In January 2006, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced their strategic vision for securing the nation's borders. The agenda included using new information technology to make it easier for foreign visitors to travel to the United States and creating travel documents to quickly verify people's identities as they cross the border.
Rice also said in her 2006 speech that the U.S. government planned to "conduct smarter screening in every place that we encounter travelers."
The summary that State released late Thursday said the department is working with Homeland Security to identify the best practices at U.S. ports, such as improved screening, more efficient movement of people, and customized video messages with information on the entry process. State tested various methods in 2006 to "remotely collect fingerprints and capture data for the non-immigrant application form from applicants with special needs," the summary said.
The government also announced an increase in the issuance of student and business visas since the September 2001 terrorist attacks.
In the past year, the summary said the government has looked to enhance its relationship with the private sector. Both departments plan to soon inaugurate a program that would be a "streamlined redress center for travelers who have concerns about their treatment in the screening process."
State said in August that it had begun issuing electronic passports to business and tourist travelers, and the summary noted that by spring "all 17 passport issuance agencies will be converted to full e-passport production."
The department is currently seeking feedback on a proposed credit-card-sized identification documentation that would "offer a secure, less expensive alternative to the passport book for border community residents," the summary said. The border-crossing cards that the United States issues to Mexican citizens along the southern border also will be updated to incorporate that technology, the department said.
State noted that Homeland Security has established "a single trusted-traveler program strategy that integrates all existing and proposed trusted-traveler programs for international air, land and sea travel." The core information system for it is the Global Enrollment System.
The government also announced improvements in screening technology.
As of Jan. 23 all U.S.-bound air travelers, including American citizens, must submit secure documents. As of November, all applicants for non-immigrant visas must use electronic application forms, which State said should be available online by the end of fiscal 2007.
In 2006, the government began testing digital videoconferencing and expanded its use of facial-recognition technology to identify visa applicants. "We expect to soon begin using this technology to assist in adjudicating passport applications," the department said.
The State Department also has initiated conversations with 28 countries to determine the degree to which they may be interested in sharing "terrorist lookout information."
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Editor's Note: The following two stories are part of a series on the key technology players and issues before the committees of the 110th Congress. The package will conclude next week.
On The Hill
Intelligence Panels Have Plateful Of Tech Issues To Digest
by Chris Strohm
The new chairmen of the Senate and House Intelligence committees say their plates already are full with a number of technology-related issues, including passing an authorization bill, examining classified surveillance programs, and monitoring the progress of reforms and information-sharing at intelligence agencies.
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman John (Jay) Rockefeller also plans to conduct a confirmation hearing next week for retired Vice Adm. J. Michael McConnell to be the new national intelligence director. He further wants to complete an investigation by this summer into whether Bush administration officials intentionally manipulated pre-war intelligence on Iraq.
The Senate panel will hold a series of closed hearings to examine topics like:
-- The effectiveness of foreign and domestic counter-terrorism programs;
-- The Bush administration's terrorist surveillance program;
-- Signals and imagery intelligence programs and activities;
-- And regime stability and counter-terrorism activities in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
"Additionally," said Committee ranking Republican Christopher (Kit) Bond, R-Mo., "we will take an in-depth look at the structure of the intelligence community, beginning with an assessment of how well intelligence reform is working and whether changes in law are needed."
Several panel members expressed concern at a hearing Tuesday that the national intelligence director does not have enough authority over the budgets of the 16 intelligence agencies. They also cited vacancies at senior positions within the intelligence community.
The office of the national intelligence director was created just more than two years ago. "After two years, it is appropriate that the Senate Intelligence Committee take stock of the implementation of the Intelligence Reform Act," Rockefeller said during the hearing. "We need to understand what has been accomplished, what remains to be accomplished, and what changes to the law are warranted in light of the experience of the past two years."
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, said his top priorities include oversight of the government's most sensitive surveillance programs. He said the committee "will thoroughly review" a recently disclosed program under which the Pentagon is examining the banking and credit records of hundreds of Americans.
Reyes added that he wants more information on the Bush administration's plan to go before the court created under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act when it wants to conduct surveillance on U.S. citizens. "Until our committee has the opportunity to review the court orders and conduct in-depth oversight over this program, I am withholding judgment on whether it is effective and whether it protects the rights of the American people," Reyes said.
He added that the committee will explore how to build a stronger core of intelligence professionals who speak foreign languages and have cultural sensitivity in order to penetrate the hardest targets.
For the first time, the House committee will have input into the intelligence appropriations process. Earlier this month, the House adopted a reorganization that establishes a select intelligence oversight panel under the Appropriations Committee.
Rep. Rush Holt, D-N.J. has been tapped to chair the new panel. "I will work with public officials, citizens, scholars and others with expertise in the fields of counter terrorism, nuclear nonproliferation and international relations to inform the activities of the panel and ensure that our government is pursuing sensible policies and making effective investments in our collective security," Holt said.
At Tuesday's hearing, members of the Senate Intelligence Committee said the Senate intelligence and appropriations panels also should have better coordination. Bond and Sens. Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., and Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, said they might seek legislative changes to ensure better coordination between the panels.
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On The Hill
Defense Panels' Work Includes DARPA, Modernization
by Michael Martinez
New faces and priorities have reshaped the personalities of the Armed Services panels in both chambers of Congress. As debate heats up this session over the Iraq war and the global fight against terrorism, observers will be watching closely to see how action in both committees affects the technology sector.
A change in tone in both panels was evident this month in hearings conducted on the Iraq war. On the Senate side, Carl Levin, D-Mich., has replaced John Warner, R-Va., as chairman. Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., has taken charge on the House side.
Leadership changes at the subcommittee level could have an even bigger effect on tech-related policy, especially on how it relates to the war on terrorism.
Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., now chairs the House Terrorism and Unconventional Threats Subcommittee. Spokesman Derrick Crowe said Smith has a laundry list of high-tech priorities for the panel, including harnessing technology for the Defense Department, investing in research and development projects to develop technologies against future threats, and exploring alternatives forms of energy.
Several high-tech operations, including the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, fall under the jurisdiction of Smith's panel. Crowe said Smith plans to work to ensure that the Pentagon continues to invest wisely in critical research projects, and cited research at DARPA that laid the foundation for the modern Internet.
In the past, Smith also has pushed to create a special information technology acquisition office at the Pentagon to research commercial IT systems that could be of use to the military.
On the Senate side, Rhode Island's Jack Reed has taken charge of the Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee. That panel also has jurisdiction over DARPA, as well as the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency and U.S. Special Operations Command, or SOCOM.
Hawaii's Daniel Akaka has assumed leadership of the panel's Readiness and Management Support Subcommittee. His panel oversees military construction, information technology and base tech policies, among other things.
New faces also will help shape the personalities of the panels in the 110th Congress. Several new members on the House panel represent hubs for the defense tech industry.
CongressDaily reported last week that Pennsylvania Democrat Joe Sestak has pledged to push for cash for a large Boeing plant just outside of his district that manufactures aircraft for the Army and Marines. Sestak last fall defeated Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa., who served as vice chairman of the Armed Services panel.
General Dynamics' Electric Boat business is based in the backyard of Connecticut Democrat Joe Courtney. Electric Boat has received several multimillion-dollar contracts recently to develop maritime defense technologies.
On the Senate side, freshmen Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and Sen. James Webb, D-Va. have joined the committee. Webb, a former Republican, served as Navy secretary during the Reagan administration. Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., the new chairman of the Republican National Committee, also is a newcomer to Senate Armed Services.
The technology-related workload for both of the panels is likely increase next month when President Bush issues his fiscal 2008 budget. The defense technology industry is eager to learn how much money Bush will request for its kind of initiatives.
At his confirmation hearing in December, new Defense Secretary Robert Gates told the Senate Armed Services Committee that he will continue some of the military transformation efforts of his predecessor, Donald Rumsfeld.
According to a recently disclosed memorandum, the Army is planning budget cuts in the $160 billion high-tech Future Combat Systems program, one of the key components of Rumsfeld's transformation plan.
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Television
Forthcoming Violence Report May Fuel Hill Action
by David Hatch
The FCC is finalizing a report on television violence that could fuel efforts by Sen. John (Jay) Rockefeller and other lawmakers to restrict excessively graphic prime-time programming.
But the draft, now being circulated among the five regulators at the GOP-controlled commission, does not go as far as Democrat Michael Copps and Republican Deborah Tate would like, an agency source said. Spokespersons in those offices did not return calls.
The report, requested by 39 House members in 2004, is expected soon. Republican FCC Chairman Kevin Martin is spearheading the effort and already has made changes in response to Copps and Tate, the source explained.
In particular, he removed a recommendation that the Department of Health and Human Services study the link between TV violence and children's behavior after they complained that fresh research should not be the focus.
Rockefeller, a West Virginian who is the second-most senior Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee, plans to reintroduce legislation this session giving the FCC authority to curtail TV violence. He is expected to question Martin about the issue at a Feb. 1 oversight hearing. The senator's office did not return telephone calls.
At present, the FCC can restrict only sexually explicit or profane content on television or radio, meaning that legislation is required to expand the rules.
The report explores the impact of violent shows on youngsters, constitutional limits on the government's ability to restrict such fare, and whether authorities should define what constitutes excessively violent programming.
At a recent event sponsored by the Parents Television Council, which has urged the entertainment industry to voluntarily clean up the airwaves, Copps said the report should include options that Congress can pursue if the TV industry does not self-regulate.
But the agency source said the latest draft does not contain such proposals to avoid interfering with pending court cases in which broadcasters have challenged high-profile indecency fines. The FCC wants to avoid drawing judicial scrutiny of its intentions regarding violence while those cases are pending, the observer said. The draft recognizes the difficulty in developing a legal definition of acceptable violence, but says Congress could craft such a definition.
"Our [TV violence] report finds that there is a deep concern among parents and health professionals regarding harm from viewing violence in the media," Martin said during a Jan. 18 speech. He reiterated his support for reinstating the prime-time "family hour" and for per-channel pricing on cable.
Conservative and religious organizations are turning their attention to this issue after scoring a major legislative victory last year when they successfully pressured Congress to boost the FCC's "indecency" fines. Nevertheless, even the strongest critics of TV violence acknowledge that regulation is wrought with constitutional complexities.
"We're not out there saying that the government has to regulate this stuff," said Dan Isett, the director of corporate and government affairs at PTC. "Everything that we talk about should be voluntary."
The TV industry is conducting a campaign to educate viewers about parental controls.
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Health
Governors' Coalition Assembles For E-Health Discussions
by Aliya Sternstein
Many governors convened in Washington on Friday in their new capacity as members of a state-level coalition that they hope will codify electronic health-information exchanges.
During the inaugural meeting of the State Alliance for e-Health, the new members discussed state government advantages over the federal government in wrangling together disparate health information technology systems.
"I think [the opinion] is that the states can move much more quickly," said alliance co-Chairman Phil Bredesen, the governor of Tennessee. "I don't trust the federal government to actually do anything on my watch."
The government would be more adept at developing standards for compatible systems and e-health records, he said.
Over the next year, the alliance will concentrate on the typical health IT challenges of privacy, security and liability but also on problems unique to state government, such as clinician licensing for health-information exchanges and the integration of federal programs and state programs.
"Do we want [the data-warehousing] to be national, [in the] state? Do we want it to be local? The answer remains to be seen," said Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas, the alliance's other co-chair.
The alliance was created by the National Governors Association under contract with the Health and Human Services Department. Bredesen and Douglas said they were headed to Capitol Hill later in the day to talk with Sen. Edward Kennedy, the Massachusetts Democrat who heads the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, about data exchange.
A representative from the Louisiana Health and Hospitals Department was invited to share the state's experiences with pen and paper data exchanges versus electronic data exchanges after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Roxane Townsend, deputy secretary of the department, said, while tearing up, that the ink on the pill bottles brought to her by victims who needed refills was illegible. The victims said to Townsend: "This is the medicine that I want. Can you help me?" The fact that she could not help those people -- in the 21st century -- was impossible for her to believe.
"As we cared for these people, we were creating more and more paper," Townsend said, referring to the medical records that emergency responders were forced to recreate off the cuff.
Today, with help from HHS, the state has created a Louisiana Health Information Exchange populated with data from multiple hospital centers. Townsend said the hospitals, many of which are "fierce" competitors, once viewed the medical records as proprietary data that should not be shared but now understand that they have become a safety net.
An atmosphere of trust among all stakeholders is critical for a successful e-health data exchange, she told the governors.
"You may not have this in your governments, [but] in Louisiana, there are people who don't have complete trust in the government," Townsend said. She recommended that the states let an independent group oversee health IT guidelines. An independent body would be able to sustain the system across political administrations and allow the healthcare industry to be involved in the decision-making.
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Lobbying
The ISP Agenda: Data Retention, Neutrality, Tax Ban
by Andrew Noyes
Data retention and network neutrality will be major issues for Internet service providers in the 110th Congress, industry insiders said this week. The permanent extension of a moratorium on taxing Internet access that expires in November also is a key concern.
Dave McClure, president of the U.S. Internet Industry Association, said the Justice Department's proposal to preserve certain data on Internet activity "is only going to be an issue because [Attorney General Alberto] Gonzales is going to push for it."
"House Democrats are less inclined to give in to intrusive data collection than perhaps they were under Republican control," McClure predicted. But Colorado Democrat Diana DeGette, who has led the data-retention charge in the House, has been working on a bill since last year.
On the Senate side, Arizona Republican John McCain is planning to introduce a measure that McClure said would give Justice "some of what it wants but makes the ground rules a little clearer" about liability limitations for ISPs whose customers are suspected of illegal behavior.
"You can't simply declare that ISPs somehow have to find child porn, store it, and pass it on to the federal government because the simple act of storing it and passing it on is a de facto violation of federal law," McClure said. McCain's measure would provide clarification on what data would be retained and for how long, he said.
David Baker, a former vice president for public policy at EarthLink, said 2006 ended with "some very productive meetings" between congressional staffers and the Internet community. Both sides now have a general understanding of "how to balance law enforcements' needs ... with the realities of operating an online service," he said.
Meanwhile, Baker said last year's push for net neutrality, a mandate for equal treatment of high-speed Internet content, may be renewed in light of conditions that AT&T accepted to win FCC approval of its merger with BellSouth. Net neutrality as a standalone bill, rather than within a broader telecommunications package, "might stand a slightly stronger chance in the new Congress," Baker said.
McClure has a different take on net neutrality, saying the issue provided "a convenient way for those who wanted a change in Congress to keep Republicans from passing any kind of meaningful telecom reform."
Because of net neutrality, "we lost video-franchise reform, universal service reform and the permanent extension of the Internet Tax Nondiscrimination Act," McClure said. "There were a lot of good things on the table last year that got blown away in the name net neutrality, whatever that means."
Sens. John Sununu, R-N.H., Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and McCain introduced a measure to make the Internet tax ban permanent earlier this month.
Attorney Jim Halpert of the Piper and Rudnick law firm said he thinks key issues for ISPs in the 110th Congress will be data retention; copyright reform initiatives that could impact how they operate; data privacy and security; proposals that go after misuse of online services; and combating cyber crime.
Officials with the U.S. Internet Service Provider Association, which represents America Online, Microsoft and others, would not comment on that group's priorities.
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On The Hill
Anti-Terrorism Bills Target Security And Visas
by Brittany R. Ballenstedt
As the President Bush this week urged Congress in his State of the Union address to back his Iraq war policies, lawmakers introduced legislation aimed at promoting security and anti-terrorism technologies.
Rep. Jim Langevin, R-R.I. introduced a bill to ensure that individuals in a special Homeland Security Department office have the proper training to evaluate anti-terrorism technologies. The measure, H.R. 599, would reform a 2002 law known as the SAFETY Act to provide incentives for the innovative development of anti-terrorism technologies. The House passed the measure Wednesday by unanimous vote.
"When the SAFETY Act originally passed in 2002, it marked a good starting place for government to begin encouraging the development of advanced technologies to keep our nation safe," Langevin said. "However, there is now an obvious need for improvement."
Historically, he said the application review process for developing such technologies has been burdensome, causing many effective technologies to go unnoticed. The measure seeks to ensure that the Homeland Security secretary employ sufficient analysts to review applications and to facilitate communication between Homeland Security's procurement sector and the office that implements the SAFETY Act.
Another security bill, S. 342, would expand a program that waives visa requirements for U.S.-bound travelers from countries that are allied with America. "There are many countries helping us thwart terrorism around the world, and they should be rewarded for their continued cooperation," said bill sponsor George Voinovich, R-Ohio.
The legislation seeks to improve cooperation with key allies while strengthening national security interests and promoting economic competitiveness. The visa-waiver program would be expanded to countries that support the United States and that are prepared to help keep terrorists out of it.
Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, introduced a measure aimed at improving the ability of emergency communications equipment to work across jurisdictions. The bill, S. 385, is a response to a $1 billion grant program provided to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to ensure interoperability to emergency responders.
The measure also would designate grants for regional and statewide systems and would reserve funding for the immediate deployment of communications equipment during emergencies.
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart also proposed a bill, H.R. 688, that would require states to increase penalties for violent crimes that are videotaped and posted on the Internet. The legislation would curb federal funding for states that do not punish such action.
"These attacks are bad enough," the Florida Republican said. "We don't need to promote them through cyberspace."
Other tech-related measures introduced this week were:
-- H.R. 344, which would permit the televising of Supreme Court proceedings;
-- H.R. 352, which would authorize media coverage of federal court proceedings;
-- H.R. 600, which would allow tax deferrals on gains from the sale of telecommunications businesses to promote diversity of ownership;
-- H.R. 605, which would increase the penalties for telemarketing fraud against senior citizens;
-- H.R. 608, which aims to inform consumers about the digital television transition;
-- And H.R. 694, which would establish a digital and wireless network technology program.
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Today's Feature:
Executive Summary
President Bush didn't say much about technology in his State of the Union speech this week, but techies found reason for hope in his words anyway.
Every Friday, read the Executive Summary by K. Daniel Glover.
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E-briefs
Campaigns: Democratic Sen. Joseph Biden said Friday that he will make his bid for president in 2008 official, AP reports. The 64-year-old Delaware lawmaker said he will file paperwork with the Federal Election Commission and launch a campaign Web site. Two other Democratic senators, Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois, made their interest in the presidency public in online videos in recent days. Former Sen. John Edwards, the 2004 vice-presidential nominee and a former Democratic senator from North Carolina, did the same thing in December.
On The Hill: Louisiana Democrat Charlie Melancon, the newly appointed vice chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, said that pursuing emergency communications that work across jurisdictions likely will a key issue for him this year. In an interview with Technology Daily, Melancon called technological incompatibility "one of the biggest problems" faced in Hurricane Katrina's aftermath. "We got our news watching CNN. We couldn't talk to the sheriffs and emergency folks and fire departments," he said. "There's been no real oversight," Melancon alleged, noting his disappointment with Congress for not planning interoperability-focused follow-up hearings on the government's response to the hurricane. The former American Sugar Cane League president added that he is new to technology issues. "I can send an e-mail and I can talk on my cell phone, but don't ask me to fix a problem with them."
On The Hill: The House panel charged with protecting consumer interests plans to make legislation to curb secretly installed computer spyware one of its first priorities in the 110th Congress. The Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection held its first meeting Wednesday. A spokesman for Illinois Democrat Bobby Rush, who chairs the subcommittee, said other issues like clamping down on the buying and selling of Social Security numbers and enacting privacy protections for information brokers top his boss' to-do list. Finding new ways to fight "pretexting," or obtaining confidential telephone records by fraudulent means, is another priority. Rush, whose subcommittee was profiled in Technology Daily earlier this week, "didn't want to discuss overall priorities until he'd met with everyone," his spokesman said. The chairman wants the panel to be "very active and aggressive," this session, the spokesman added.
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President -- John Fox Sullivan, 202-739-8468
Editor in Chief -- Louis Peck, 202-739-8481
Editor -- K. Daniel Glover (bio)
Assistant Editor -- Theresa Poulson
Senior Writers -- David Hatch (bio), Heather Greenfield (bio), Andrew Noyes (bio) and Aliya Sternstein (bio)
Special Correspondent -- Chris Strohm (bio)
Staff Writer -- Michael Martinez
Senior Business Affairs Manager -- Chris Hamby
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